Deploy and deliver apps and updates

Adobe delivers updates, features, and new versions of apps as they become available. Decide how to deploy and deliver these apps and updates to your end users. There are several options available, and you can choose one or more that best suits your requirements. It must be noted that each method has its own pros and cons. Weigh the benefits against the requirements of your organization or group.

As the administrator of the Adobe enterprise organization, you can make Creative Cloud and Document Cloud applications available to your end users in two ways:

Self-service packages

Like millions of Adobe users, you can allow your creatives to install applications and updates via the Creative Cloud Desktop application. Self-service packages reduce IT overhead and ensure that your creatives have access to all the tools they need and receive updates as soon as they are released.

If you want to enable self-service but your end users do not have administrative privileges, you can do one of the following:

Create a package based on an Adobe Template with elevated privileges turned on

Self-service workflows enable users to download and install apps as and when required. Apps that a user is entitled to get, are provisioned when the user signs in. Other apps can be used as a trial for a limited time. This also frees up admins from creating and deploying multiple packages and updates. For example, self-service workflows are efficient in the following scenarios:

You have diverse and changing requirements of apps by different users.

Your users have several hardware and operating system combinations.

You have remote workers in your organization.

Different teams and users upgrade at different times, because of ongoing projects.

You want to reduce the initial footprint on a machine by allowing a user to install only the applications they require, and for as long as they require.

As a first step, end users download the Creative Cloud desktop app from the Creative Cloud website. In addition to downloading and installing the software, the app also provides access to Creative Cloud services such as File Sync, Font Sync, and Behance.

Managed packages

Using Managed packages, you can decide what get’s deployed and when it gets updated. You can create the packages that contain the latest or archived versions of Adobe products. These packages can then be deployed to the user's computers in your organization. You can even perform silent and custom deployment where no inputs are required from your users during installation.

Create customized packages with the configuration and applications you want your end users to have.

You can also use the Creative Cloud Packager, in which case, the Creative Cloud Packager must be installed on a computer that can connect to the Internet and has no Adobe software installed. Also, separate Mac and Windows machines are required to create packages for each platform.

At this stage, you need to design the packages, make a list of packages, determine package counts, and decide upon a naming scheme for the packages. For information, see Planning packages.

Deploying updates

There are several mechanisms to deliver app updates available to end users. Choose one of the following based on your organization's need.

Self-service

Users can download and install updates directly from Adobe. This method ensures that your end users have access to the latest updates when they become available. Updates can be downloaded and installed using the Creative Cloud desktop app or using the Adobe Updater included with the apps. For these workflows, the client machines require access to the Adobe servers and admin privileges.

This option is available for both self-service and managed app delivery.

Managed delivery

When you create packages, you can choose a managed update delivery mechanism.